Two Old Men (story)

"Two Old Men" ("Два старика") is a short story by Leo Tolstoy written in 1885. It is a religious piece that was translated to English by Leo Wiener in 1904.[1] According to Christianity Today, it is the story of Efim and Elisha, two neighbors who decide to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem before dying,[2] "but one gets sidetracked caring for a needy family".[3]

Publication and Commentary

The story was retold in a sermon by Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast, who concluded his retelling with, "Who really got to the goal of the pilgrimage?"[4] The story is included in numerous Tolstoy collections, such as Twenty-Three Tales (1924),[5] Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories (2009),[6] and Tolstoy: Tales of Courage and Conflict (1986).[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ Leo Tolstoy (1904). Leo Wiener (ed.). The Complete Works of Count Tolstoy: Fables for children. Stories for children. Natural science stories. Popular education. Decembrists. Moral tales. Estes. p. 409.
  2. ^ "Tolstoy's Story 'Two Old Men'". Preaching Today. Christianity Today.
  3. ^ Klagge, James C. (2021). Wittgenstein's Artillery: Philosophy as Poetry. Cambridge, Massachusetts; London, England: The MIT Press, p. 97.
  4. ^ David Steindl-Rast (2013). "Two Old Men".
  5. ^ Leo Tolstoy (1924). Twenty-Three Tales. Translated by Aylmer and Louise Maude. Humphrey Sumner Milford; Oxford University Press. p. 92.
  6. ^ Leo Tolstoy (2009). Andrew Barger (ed.). Leo Tolstoy's 20 Greatest Short Stories Annotated. Translated by unidentified. Bottletree Books. p. 339.
  7. ^ Leo Tolstoy (1986). Charles Neider (ed.). Tolstoy: Tales of Courage and Conflict. Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole. Carroll & Graf. p. 343.


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